Secret Love and Hope
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Santana and Quinn apologize. Sequel to Initiation. One-shot femslash


_**LbN: Sequel to Initiation. Read that one first. **_

Rachel walked into school with her head held high. This would be good practice, she thought to herself. When she was a famous Broadway star, she'd have to deal with much bigger rumors about her love life and who she was sleeping with. Let Santana and Quinn tell the school about their little "initiation" plot if they wanted to—they couldn't keep her down.

Having braced herself amply for whispers and stares, or at least a slushie or two, she was quite surprised when nothing unpleasant came her way. Wondering when the hammer was going to drop, she made her way to her locker to grab her books for first and second period. When she opened it, she found two Lisianthus flowers sitting on top of her things. She looked around quickly to see if anyone was watching or acting suspicious, but it was just business as usual at McKinley. There was a card sticking out of her Pre-Calculus book, and after sorting all of her things, she pulled it out and read,

_Don't worry. No one knows and no one will._

That was weird. It had to be from Quinn and Santana. But what were they playing at? Did they have something else planned? She pushed it from her mind as the warning bell rang, and made her way to class.

* * *

Rachel had been having an unexpectedly pleasant morning. It seemed like rumors really hadn't gotten around, and she hadn't been slushied once!

She whistled as she opened her locker. Two white tulips fell out. This time, she didn't bother sorting her things, but rummaged immediately for the card.

_We're sorry. It was wrong of us, for more reasons than you know. _

Okay, now she was worried. Had something bad happened to them? A favor of keeping mum was one thing. Repentance? That was unheard of for these two. She glanced down the hall to where Quinn was usually stationed at Finn's locker. The blonde wasn't there this time, though.

_Right, Berry, _she thought, _stay on your guard._

* * *

She found two Irises after lunch.

_Though your Broadway mania is a little crazy at times, you are an inspiration. Even more so because, talking about Broadway or not, you stick to your convictions. _

Rachel sprinted down the hall and found Kurt just as he was headed into his geology class. "I need a minute," she said desperately.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. "Oh god, are you pregnant? I'll kill Finn…."

"No! We're not even dating anymore. No, listen, remember what I told you about…Saturday's incident?"

Kurt nodded.

"Look at these." She shoved the notes into his hands and watched with growing panic as his eyes got wide.

"You tamed the devil and the demon?" he asked in a hushed tone. "Keep it on lock until you figure out exactly what they want."

She nodded furiously. "We'll talk more in glee."

He saluted and went into the science room.

Rachel took a deep breath and looked down the hallway. She spotted Santana staring. "Thank you," she mouthed. Panicked or not, it was a nice gesture, and it was always better to express gratitude.

Santana nodded and continued on her way.

* * *

There were no flowers at the end of the day, but there was a note.

_Meet us in the auditorium? We just want to talk._

When she got there, she immediately spotted the two girls on stage. Each was holding a bouquet of sunflowers, red carnations and pink roses.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey."

"Hi Rachel."

There was a long, awkward silence that stretched on until Santana sneezed.

"Sorry," she said. "Flower allergy."

Rachel smiled. "I'm flattered that you suffered on my behalf. What's all this about?"

Quinn and Santana shared a glance. With a deep breath, Quinn began to speak.

"We shouldn't have done any of that stuff to you, Rachel. And definitely not…. Look, we really do like you. We just…you spend so long play social Hunger Games at this school it kind of warps your sense of dignity. We're sorry. And we…want to be friends." She handed over her bouquet, and Santana did the same.

"We stopped the slushies," Santana told her. "Not just for you—for everyone. We know you don't trust us, you're probably ready to bolt right now, but we're hoping it's a start."

Rachel smiled down at her large collection of flowers. "It's a start. Walk with me to glee?"

The other girls smiled and followed her out of the auditorium.

* * *

"Why did you need my book on gardening?" Kurt asked as soon as Rachel opened the door later that evening.

"I need to look a few things up." She pulled him into the living room and sat down. "Soda?"

"I'll go grab a water. You study your flowers," he said.

She flipped through the book to the part with the flower meanings.

_Lisianthus- Calm_

_White Tulips- Forgiveness_

_Iris- Admiration_

_Sunflowers- Adoration_

_Pink Rose- Friendship_

_Red Carnation-_

"Love?" she croaked.

"They can't be serious…." Kurt mumbled.

Rachel thought back to last Saturday. She remembered the look on Quinn's face when they'd propositioned her, and the look on both their faces when she'd said no. "Oh god, I think they are serious."

* * *

Quinn and Santana each found a Gardenia and a Star of Bethlehem in their lockers the next afternoon. They both got the same note.

_We'll see. –R_


End file.
